Hunt world title shot dream looks over
Patrick McKendry
Mark Hunt, the veteran UFC heavyweight with so-called “dynamite in his hands”, sat exhausted and dejected on his stool yesterday after a comprehensive beating by Curtis Blaydes at Perth UFC 221.
The shame of it for Hunt, the 43-year-old from South Auckland with only two fights left in his UFC career and who lost this one by unanimous decision, was that he had Blaydes down in round one, courtesy of a right hand which was quickly followed up by several more.
But as Hunt went in for the kill as he has so often in his career, Blaydes got back on his feet and expertly defused the threat by ducking under a left hook and taking his opponent to the floor where the pair saw out the round.
It set the tone for the two rounds after. Hunt, who had a big height and reach disadvantage, attempted to quickly close the distance at the start of the second and third rounds only for 26-year-old Curtis to quickly take him down and completely dominate. The American has a wrestling background and his strength on the floor was plain to see. Twice he savagely slammed Hunt to the floor.
Hunt’s corner told him he needed a big third round in order to have a chance but the constant grappling sapped his strength and he soon found himself underneath Blaydes.
Hunt showed heart to get up several times but it was fruitless. Ranked the fifth best heavyweight in the UFC, his big chance of winning the fight was in that first round but he couldn’t finish off ninth-ranked Blaydes.
“He came on like I knew he would,” Blaydes said. “He tried to knock me out and hurt me early. I learned my lesson and went back to my takedowns — ground and pound.”
Blaydes, who chalked up a personal best 10 takedowns during the fight, said he was hurt for about 20 seconds by Hunt in round one, “but I recovered in that next takedown”.
To boos, he added: “I know Australians are going to root for their hero. No offence but I came to win and I did what I wanted to do.”
Hunt now has a 13-12-1 UFC record and his chance at a title shot, already tenuous due to his court action against the UFC for allegedly allowing his opponents to use performance enhancing drugs, looks extremely doubtful now.
Two judges gave Blaydes all three rounds, with one giving Hunt the first round.
In an undercard fight, the New Zealand-based middleweight Israel Adesanya, the self-styled ‘Style Bender’, looked extremely impressive on his UFC debut in stopping Rob Wilkinson in round two.
An assured Adesanya afterwards said he was putting the entire division on notice.